Rail-joint.



O.ZELLER.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 4,1912.

1,048,631 Patented Dec. 31, 1912.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES ZELLER, OF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON.

RAIL-JOINT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES ZELL in, a sub ect of the King of Hungary, residing at Spokane, in the county of Spokane and State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Joints, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to rail joints, and the objects of my invention are to obviate the necessity of using bolts and nuts for attaching splice bars to the sides of rails, and to provide a rail chair for supporting the confronting ends of rails whereby said rails cannot become accidentally displaced.

Further objects of my invention are to provide a rail joint that can be easily and quickly installed, and to accomplish the above results by a mechanical construction that is inexpensive to manufacture, durable and highly eflicient for the purposes for which it is intended.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of the splice bars, Fig. 2 is a similar view of the adjoining splice bar, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the end of a rail in accordance with this invention, Fig. t is a bottom plan of the splice bars as connected together to constitute a chair for the ends of rails, and Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view of the same.

A rail chair in accordance with this invention comprises splice bars 1 and 2 having base plates 3 and 4; respectively. The base plate 3 is of a greater width than the base flanges 5 of rails 6 placed upon said base plate, and one end of the base plate is cut away, as at 7 to receive the base plate 4 of the splice bar 2. The abutting ends of the base plates 3 and 4 are beveled, as at 8, whereby said base plate will be interlocked against lateral displacement.

The inner side of the splice bar 1 is provided with a plurality of equally spaced pins 9, having the ends thereof provided with dovetailed tapering heads 10. The pins 9 are adapted to extend through open- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 4, 1912.

Patented Dec. 31,1912.

Serial No. 695,116.

ings 11 provided therefor in the web 12 0f the rails 6, one of said openings being formed by slotting the ends of said rails, as best shown in Fig. 3.

The inner side of the splice bar 2 is provided with pockets 13 corresponding in number to the pins, and said pockets have longitudinal clove-tailed tapering slots 14 in communication therewith. The pockets 13 are adapted to receive the heads 10 of the pins 9, when one of the splice bars, particularly the bar 2, is shifted whereby the dove tailed tapering heads 10 will engage in the slots 14 and lock the splice bars 1 and 2 relatively to the ends of the rails 6. The outer edges of the splice bars 1 and 2, adjacent to the ends thereof, are provided with spike notches 15 to receive spikes or other fastening means (not shown) employed for securing the rail chair to ties, whereby the displacement of the splice bars is practically impossible.

It is thought that the manner of assembling the rail joint and the utility thereof will be apparent without further description, and while in the drawing there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the structural elements are susceptible of such changes as fall within the scope of the appended claim.

lVhat I claim is A rail joint comprising the combination with a pair of rails having the web thereof formed with rectangular openings, of a splice bar engaging the longitudinal edges and overlapping the bases and further engaging the webs of said rails at one side thereof, a base plate integral with said splice bar and positioned against the lower faces of the bases of the rails, said base plate having one side for a portion of its length cut away, the width of the uncut portion being the same as the width of the base of a rail, a splice bar engaging the longitudinal edges, the bases and the webs of the other side of said rail and having a portion of its lower edge seated upon said base plate, a plate integral with the remaining portion of the lower edge of said last mentioned splice bar and mounted in the cut away portion of the other base plate, pins carried by one of said splice bars and extending through said openings, the other of said splice bars having pockets and longitudinally extending dove-tailed slots com- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature municating with the pockets and spaced in the presence of two Witnesses. from each other, dove-tailed heads carried CHARLES ZELLER by said pins and capable of being seated in the pockets and further adapted to engage WVitnesses:

in said slots, and means to prevent longi- J. E. LOVE, tudinal displacement of said bars. M. R. SHOPF.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

